<p>Storytelling serves many purposes. People often tell stories as a coping mechanism, as a way of self-representation, and as a means for self-reflection. Through stories, narrators construct identities and gain perspective on events in their lives. This thesis is a discourse analysis of a single narrative told by a young man staying at a children&rsquo / s home in Cape Town. The study explores how life events are presented and evaluated in narrative and analyses the construction of identities. The objectives of the study are threefold. Firstly it aims to explore how the narrator draws on different social discourses in the telling of his narrative. Secondly, it analyses how, through the telling of these events, identities are constructed. Finally, the study assesses how the participant builds evaluation into his narrative. The study&rsquo / s overall purpose is to gain an understanding of narrative identities. The analysis reveals that Lucas develops three Master Narratives relating to the themes of family, education and drugs. His attitudes towards all three are ambivalent and he weaves competing discourses into his narrative in relation to each. He seeks, through his story, to construct himself as a wise young man who &ndash / having experimented with drugs and dropped out of school &ndash / makes the decision to redeem himself by going back to school, rejecting drugs, and mending his ties with his family. In this sense, his narrative is like an archetypal Bildungsroman. The study takes a qualitative approach and is situated within the fields of Discourse Analysis, more specifically, narrative analysis. The main theoretical influences in the study include Tannen (1989/2007 / 2008) and Labov (1972). The analysis of this study focuses on identifying the Master Narratives that shape Lucas&rsquo / s story as well as the discourses and competing ideologies which support these Master Narratives.</p>

<p>Storytelling serves many purposes. People often tell stories as a coping mechanism, as a way of self-representation, and as a means for self-reflection. Through stories, narrators construct identities and gain perspective on events in their lives. This thesis is a discourse analysis of a single narrative told by a young man staying at a children&rsquo / s home in Cape Town. The study explores how life events are presented and evaluated in narrative and analyses the construction of identities. The objectives of the study are threefold. Firstly it aims to explore how the narrator draws on different social discourses in the telling of his narrative. Secondly, it analyses how, through the telling of these events, identities are constructed. Finally, the study assesses how the participant builds evaluation into his narrative. The study&rsquo / s overall purpose is to gain an understanding of narrative identities. The analysis reveals that Lucas develops three Master Narratives relating to the themes of family, education and drugs. His attitudes towards all three are ambivalent and he weaves competing discourses into his narrative in relation to each. He seeks, through his story, to construct himself as a wise young man who &ndash / having experimented with drugs and dropped out of school &ndash / makes the decision to redeem himself by going back to school, rejecting drugs, and mending his ties with his family. In this sense, his narrative is like an archetypal Bildungsroman. The study takes a qualitative approach and is situated within the fields of Discourse Analysis, more specifically, narrative analysis. The main theoretical influences in the study include Tannen (1989/2007 / 2008) and Labov (1972). The analysis of this study focuses on identifying the Master Narratives that shape Lucas&rsquo / s story as well as the discourses and competing ideologies which support these Master Narratives.</p>

Magister Artium - MA / Storytelling serves many purposes. People often tell stories as a coping mechanism, as a way of self-representation, and as a means for self-reflection. Through stories, narrators construct identities and gain perspective on events in their lives. This thesis is a discourse analysis of a single narrative told by a young man staying at a children's home in Cape Town. The study explores how life events are presented and evaluated in narrative and analyses the construction of identities. The objectives of the study are threefold. Firstly it aims to explore how the narrator draws on different social discourses in the telling of his narrative. Secondly, it analyses how, through the telling of these events, identities are constructed. Finally, the study assesses how the participant builds evaluation into his narrative. The study&rsquo;s overall purpose is to gain an understanding of narrative identities. The analysis reveals that Lucas develops three Master Narratives relating to the themes of family, education and drugs. His attitudes towards all three are ambivalent and he weaves competing discourses into his narrative in relation to each. He seeks, through his story, to construct himself as a wise young man who - having experimented with drugs and dropped out of school - makes the decision to redeem himself by going back to school, rejecting drugs, and mending his ties with his family. In this sense, his narrative is like an archetypal Bildungsroman. The study takes a qualitative approach and is situated within the fields of Discourse Analysis, more specifically, narrative analysis. The main theoretical influences in the study include Tannen (1989/2007; 2008) and Labov (1972). The analysis of this study focuses on identifying the Master Narratives that shape Lucas's story as well as the discourses and competing ideologies which support these Master Narratives. / South Africa

In this thesis, I explore how performance storytellers create intense focus on imaginal realities through language—a phenomenon sometimes called “transport” or “realm-shift.” To this end, recordings of performances by two professional storytellers were transcribed and examined through the lens of frame theory and discourse analysis. Examination of these transcripts shows that storytellers employ clusters of linguistic involvement strategies around frame transitions, facilitating realm-shift. Additionally, it shows that throughout a telling, tellers shape discourse around frame shifts that draw attention to significant elements, particularly those that establish a story’s relevance to the occasion of its telling and those that contribute to meaningful story interpretation. This research highlights the ways that meaningful interpretation of a story depends on successful navigation of frames, revealing that the power of a storytelling event depends largely on the connections between realms of discourse.

The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement in children’s education in the rural Mawa and Molototsi circuits in the Mopani district, Limpopo Province. Three-hundred-and-thirty (330) teachers participated in this research survey. The results indicated that the common perception amongst teachers was that parental involvement had positive benefits for both learner performance and social behaviour. The study also revealed that schools used involvement initiatives and strategies to a lesser extent than expected. Primary schools reported higher rates of parental involvement than secondary schools, which suggested that parents of primary school children were likelier to involve themselves in school governance than those of secondary school children. The extent to which the school used media to promote parental involvement was found to be small and moderate. The respondents also perceived certain social and economic barriers as moderate to large impediments to parental involvement. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)

The purpose of the study was to investigate teachers’ perceptions of parental involvement in children’s education in the rural Mawa and Molototsi circuits in the Mopani district, Limpopo Province. Three-hundred-and-thirty (330) teachers participated in this research survey. The results indicated that the common perception amongst teachers was that parental involvement had positive benefits for both learner performance and social behaviour. The study also revealed that schools used involvement initiatives and strategies to a lesser extent than expected. Primary schools reported higher rates of parental involvement than secondary schools, which suggested that parents of primary school children were likelier to involve themselves in school governance than those of secondary school children. The extent to which the school used media to promote parental involvement was found to be small and moderate. The respondents also perceived certain social and economic barriers as moderate to large impediments to parental involvement. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)